WATERBORO — It is a Saturday morning in Waterboro, and by 8:30 a.m., the players have already filed in.

They’re been gathering for a dozen years, first at the old Lee’s Family Restaurant on Route 5, where upwards of 20 players would come together regularly.

These days, on the second and fourth Saturday of each month, about a dozen folks gather at Waterboro Town Hall. More players emerge during the summer, when those who have cottages around the lakes join in.

The reason, of course, is cribbage, that 17th century English game, which like many British traditions and past-times, made its way across the Atlantic to North America.

But in reality, the twice-monthly games here, and the weekly Thursday morning session at Waterboro Fire Department, are more than the play.

It is a chance for players to polish their game, sure, but the gatherings are also a time for those who attend to laugh, talk and trade some good-natured ribbing.

“It’s camaraderie and friendship,” said Anthony Molodozon of Waterboro, at 90, the eldest player in the group.

Todd Smith, 45, points out that he is half Molodozon’s age and along with his wife Jill are the youngest players in the group. He runs the games when Waterboro Parks and Recreation director Mike DeAngelis is off at other events,.

“I love cribbage,” said Smith. “I love the company, they’re nice people.”

Smith got the bug at Waterboro’s Old Home Days a few years ago, where an annual tournament attracts many.

“I won,” he said. “That was it.”

Cribbage, according to the American Cribbage Congress, was invented by British poet Sir John Suckling in the 1600s, a variation on an earlier game called Noddy. The peg boards used in cribbage date to ancient Egypt and a game called Dogs and Jackals.

The object of the game, of course, is to score the most points.

The Waterboro group agrees winning takes both skill and luck ”“ you have to know how to play and also get the right cards, said Smith.

Many of those who gathered on Saturday learned to play long ago, several during their military service, like Molodozon, who learned 70 years ago when he was in the Army.

Steve Jennings of Lyman learned while at a hunting and fishing camp with a buddy in the late 1960s.

George Habel of Alfred was stationed in the Aleutians when he learned to play cribbage. He got out of the service in 1961 and after years of not playing, he took it up again and has since been to four national tournaments.

“I make this group squirm a bit,” grinned Habel, a retired Baptist minister.

“I enjoy the company, they’re a nice bunch,” said player Kenneth Colwell of Newfield.

Colwell organizes games in Newfield from spring to fall, and draws players from as far away as Windham, but the Newfield games are suspended for the winter months because of bad weather.

“My grandmother taught me when I was 10 years old,” said Colwell. “My brother and I used to watch her and my aunt play.”

Louis Manter and his wife Carolyn Bird drive down from Portland twice a month. Manter marked his 84th birthday Saturday and has been playing cribbage since he was in the Marine Corps stationed in Japan during the Korean War.

“I love to play,” he said.

DeAngelis said the players who gather do so for two reasons: They love cribbage and it is an opportunity to get out and see friends.

“I love them,” said DeAngelis of the group.

Smith said they’re always looking for more players.

“We really gave a good time. We never had a person come who didn’t want to come back,” he said.

Bird moved her peg around the wooden cribbage board.

“I don’t care if I win or not,” she said. “It’s fun.”

— Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 or twells@journaltribune.com.